The Safe Haven | Teen Ink

The Safe Haven

September 30, 2022
By Anonymous

My name is Adaline or Addy for short. I am human or at least that's what I tell myself. If you were to ask my parents they'd say I was a monster. I'm primarily an ordinary 16-year-old girl who happens to have telekinesis. It's been 159 days since everything went to hell including our screwed-up government. But today is the day I'm getting out of here. 

My parents turned on me the second the government announced that we were dangerous. I didn't know that my emotions were the reason I couldn't control my abilities. They hated me since I almost killed my brother. I got mad at him so I accidentally threw him against the wall, in my defense, I only imagined it and it just sort of happened. I have been locked in my room for 159 days and today is the day I'm getting out.

I walked to my window and looked outside, the sun was peeking through the trees which meant breakfast would be up any second. Just as I turned to go back to bed I heard the knock.

"Stand away from the door and face the window," my mom called out in the same cold voice she used every morning. 

"Done," I replied in a soft whisper.

I could try to run but I would only make it down the street before I got shot with a sedative and hauled right back here. The door creaked open and a plate was placed on the ground before the door was slammed shut again. The food was likely cold and stale but I always finished everything on my plate.

When I finished breakfast, I started my timer, I was getting out at midnight. I already had a plan: step 1 act normal, step 2 wait till midnight when everyone is asleep, step three open the window, and then step 4 run till I find a ¨Safe haven¨ for kids like me. There are rumors that there are safe havens for kids like us not that far from here. The only problem I still haven't figured out is finding where it is. I walked back over to my window and tested it. It had been bolted shut since they locked me in here but I was able to get all the screws out quietly over the last couple of weeks. It was hard since I still didn't know how to control my abilities so I had to do it with the fork they would give me for breakfast.

I was sitting in the corner writing in my journal when I heard a car start and back away from the curb. They just left for work which meant I was home alone with my brother. He would always make it his job to shout insults at me whenever they left. 

"Hey freak!" He screamed, sounding like a hyena. He would always wait a few seconds till I responded."Hey, I'm talking to you!" I would like to say that when I threw him against the wall it messed him up, but I'm not a liar. 

"Leave me alone," I said in a softer tone. 

"Freak, monster,…" he whispered right outside the door. When I didn't respond he eventually left but not before saying that I was going to rot in the pits of hell because I was a monster. 

At 7 pm I made sure everything was ready and got to bed.

"Only 5 more hours," I whispered to myself. Five more hours of this horrible house then off to a better place. I let sleep overcome me as my eyelids started to droop.

I was startled awake by a faint ringing. I quickly sat up rubbing my groggy eyes and reached for my timer checking the time. It was 2 minutes before 12 which meant in 2 minutes I would climb out the window and into what I hope to be freedom. I tip-toed over to my window and quietly pried it open. I stepped over the ledge one foot at a time and jumped to the ground. Luckily it was a one-story house so it wasn't that big of a fall.

As my feet touched the ground I started running in the shadows trying to be quiet so no one would spot me. I ran for what felt like hours till I made it to the front of an abandoned store. My body was on the verge of collapsing and I needed somewhere to rest so I made my way into the store. Just as I was about to lie down I heard a voice.

"What are you doing here?" the male voice asked.

This is it I thought they found me and now they are going to take me back. I screamed at myself to stay calm and to lie.

"I'm looking for something," I heard myself say, barely breathing.

"You won't find much here," another voice said, this time sounding like a girl.

"No, no I'm looking for a place, but I'll be on my way now,¨ I stuttered as I turned around walking out.

"Wait, don't go, we can help you," the girl said. "My name is Ruby, and his name is Luke. What's your name?"

I hesitated they sounded like teenagers too but I haven't heard much of anyone talk in a while. I turned around and quietly stepped back inside.

"My name is Adaline," I said walking farther into the store.

"That's such a pretty name," said Ruby. "Isn't it Luke?"

I tried to see where they were but it was too dark and their voices echoed in the empty store. I walked towards the corner of the store to get away from them because I still didn't trust them when all of a sudden I heard Luke yell.

"Don't go back there!" he yelled, sounding closer.

I turned around startled just in time to see a shelf falling right next to me. It was going to crush me. All of a sudden I was thrown back. I fell and slid on the floor till I hit a wall, I turned back just in time to see the shelf still in the air.

"Oh my god, you are like me," I blurted out. Luke was holding the shelf in the air, his arm outstretched and a look of concentration clear on his face. I think I scared him because he dropped the self all of a sudden creating a loud crashing sound.

"What do you mean he is like you?" Ruby said in a low voice. 

"I also have telekinesis just like him look," I raised my hand and lifted a pair of shoes, and threw it across the floor. "That's what I'm looking for, The Safe Haven for people like me. Do you know where it is?" 

"Ok first of all you have to let us digest the fact that you are also telekinetic," Luke said with a smile in his voice. "And to answer your question we do know where it is."

"Yea we can take you there if you'd like," Ruby chimed in.

"Can you because that would be amazing," I said beaming.

"If we leave right now we can make it before the sun comes up," Luke said.

I got up and followed them out of the store with a smile on my face. This is it I thought my new beginning, my chance to start over and make new friends. We walked for quite a while before we finally arrived.

"This is it Safe Haven," Ruby said smiling up to the discrete sign on the side by the entrance.  "Or as Luke calls it, home sweet home."


The author's comments:

I am a sophomore in high school and I love reading adventure and romance books.


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